European Commission to launch major Copernicus User and Market Uptake initiatives

These are exciting times for the Copernicus programme with the emergence of many new ideas and concepts in terms of User Uptake and market development. Copernicus was initially launched under the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme, since then Copernicus (2012), has followed and is already delivering further strategic, social and economic benefits. User and Market Uptake initiates are being developed by the European Commission to ensure that Europe gets the full benefits from its investments in space technologies.

Copernicus, the flagship EU Earth Observation programme managed by the European Commission (EC), provides a wealth of free and open source data to citizens and organisations. The sheer mass of data that Copernicus has the ability to produce means that users (and potential users) need to be made aware of the power of the data and be given the means to harness it most efficiently.

The approach adopted[1] by the Commission is based on three core principles:

1. Public authorities have a central role to play: by supporting research and innovation; providing harmonized public services to all EU citizens (notably through the Copernicus services); driving demand (the public sector still represents 65% of the demand for EO products) and setting the right framework conditions for the private sector (offering predictability and planning certainty), especially in terms of access to data and sustainability of the programme.

2. The socio-economic benefits of Copernicus can only be maximised through a stronger implication of the commercial downstream sector. Because of their greater agility and their easier access to market information, businesses can use Copernicus data and services to deliver tailor-made applications, reach out to new users, communities and sectors and sell products in international markets. The downstream sector is thus a fundamental link between Copernicus and the end users.

3. The Commission should leverage existing structures and turn them into multipliers for the uptake of space applications. This implies a balanced distribution of roles between Member States, regions, ESA, the Copernicus services and the Commission itself. The Copernicus services in DG GROW should make the most of other Commission activities such as H2020, COSME, public procurement directorate or the Enterprise Europe Network.

The space data providers, (including data from the Sentinels, the Copernicus services, Member States and Commercial missions)

The data platforms, which store, combine and offer space data and services.

Intermediate users, (or downstream sector), which develop applications based on space data. They include commercial service suppliers or public research centres.

End users, including public authorities (at European, national and local levels) and private sectors (such as agriculture, renewable energy, oil and gas).

The Commission will follow three objectives directly associated with the three last links in this value chain, as presented below:

Based on the above objectives, a number of actions have been proposed for implementation between 2016 and 2018.

Objective I: ensuring that all users can easily use space data and services.

The priority of the Commission will be to upgrade the Copernicus data dissemination system (essentially allowing better web-based download access to the data) and to develop data and information access services, which would allow users to process and work with the data without having to download it. This approach has recently received a green light from the Copernicus Committee (which gathers delegates from the Member States and is entrusted with the political programme oversight) and will ensure that Copernicus data is easily accessible by all users. Soon to be the subject of tenders, the Data Access and Information Service will provide platforms where the data will be easily and efficiently available in a user-friendly format, specific to the type of user and to its requirements. The intention is to procure parallel services from three suppliers. The three competition winners will be required to provide equal access to the basic data and services whilst being encouraged to develop additional capabilities on top of the baseline offering. The tenders should be run by two different entrusted entities: EUMETSAT (one data access platform) and ESA (two platforms).

Another initiative to ensure that all users can easily use Copernicus is the Training and Information Sessions. The full day Training and Information Sessions will consist of a general introduction to Copernicus, where to get the data and how and where to access funding sources. In addition, there will be more specific modules and sessions on the following topics: land, atmosphere, marine and emergency management, applications, coastal zone management, climate change adaptation and mitigation, renewable energy. All of these modules will consist of submodules, which describe real cases and provide a hands-on demonstration. Several modules will target specific interest groups: local and regional authorities, geographic information professionals, etc. Attracting a wide range of participants from different sectors will help create an effective industry networking opportunity as well as a valuable information resource.

The first batch of Training and Information Sessions will be organised in nine different countries: Greece (which took place already in Athens on October 7th) , Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark, Portugal and Malta. One Training and Information activity took place in the context of the INTERGEO trade fair, which is the world's largest business event and innovation platform for the Geospatial market. At INTERGEO, the demonstrations and presentations (held several times a day) were given at the Copernicus booth which will also featured a 'Copernicus in Germany' corner organised by DLR, and a ECMWF area, specially dedicated to showcasing the Climate Change and Atmosphere services. The third Training and Information Sessions event is being organised in Finland in November.

Free, high-quality and continuous Copernicus data could create significant business opportunities in the downstream sector, which can use it to generate value-added products. Several initiatives will therefore promote the use of Copernicus in the downstream sector.

The Copernicus Relays will become the programme's voice in individual Member States. Their main priority will be to ensure a homogenous, sustainable and two-way flow of information between the European Commission and the Copernicus (intermediate and end) Users within the EU. The relays should be influential and knowledgeable individuals without conflicts of interest who have the ability to disperse relevant information to their individual Member States or regions.

To provide a base, coordination point and information hub for the Copernicus Relays, another of the EC’s planned activities is to establish a User Uptake Support Office, to be developed and operated by a contractor. The primary objective of the Support Office will be to ensure the development of a coordinated and sustainable network of providers of general or local information on Copernicus. At the same time, it will provide real time support and information to the Copernicus Relays through a dedicated hotline. The Copernicus Relays are currently scheduled to kick-off their activity in early 2017. The Call for Relays is currently open, for further information about the Copernicus Relays and the full Call visit the Copernicus website (http://www.copernicus.eu/news/become-a-copernicus-relay).

The Copernicus Academy is another crucial pillar for User Uptake that is currently looking to kick off its activities. The Academy's aim is to provide an increasing amount of skilled Copernicus-savvy people into the workforce. The Academy will focus on networking educational facilities such as universities to foster a constant flow of professionals looking to use Copernicus in their everyday activities. The appropriate educational facilities will be provided with workshops, seminars and lectures in order to disseminate Copernicus-related information and grow knowledge. Expressions of interest were open until the 13th of October and as with the Copernicus Relays, the Academy is expected to launch in early 2017. The supply of Geo-ICT skills will also be boosted through training programmes that will be developed in collaboration with the European Institute of Technology.

To boost the development of Copernicus-specific products and/or services at a grassroots level the Copernicus Accelerator is being developed by the EC. This competition will bring together the top 40 applicants from the Copernicus Masters to further develop their concepts. Following selection, an intense boot camp and a 9-month mentorship will take place. The Accelerator will provide a dedicated coaching process with mentors that will develop participants' ideas into commercially viable businesses.

This programme is exciting for the rapid development of technology in a nurturing environment with an aim to create Copernicus-based products, services and applications with an increasingly commercial focus. The programme is currently in the selection phase with concepts having already been submitted. The boot camp will begin in October 2016 while the current phase of the programme will run until June 2017. The Copernicus Accelerator is the first step of a Copernicus start-up programme that will accompany start-ups from the generation of an idea to its full commercialisation (with prizes, appcamps, incubators…). The Commission will also facilitate access to international markets for EO European SMEs, with two dedicated calls in the COSME cluster internationalisation programme.

Most importantly, however, the Commission will strengthen its role as a market regulator, to ensure that the private sector is given the planning certainty and predictability needed for investment security. This will be done by confirming the continuation of the programme (it is important to stress that the data – on the basis of current planning – will be available well into the 2030s). In addition, the limits between the free of charge Copernicus core services and the commercial applications which can be developed on top of the public offering will be clearly defined. An “industry test” will be introduced to check the ability of downstream suppliers to provide a reliable and affordable service, before a new product is developed by the Copernicus programme.

Objective III: Maximizing the use of space data for public and private end users

It is expected that most of the benefits from Copernicus and space applications will come from end users, be they from the public (e.g. monitoring of air quality or agricultural policy) or from the private sector (e.g. renewable energy forecast, precision agriculture).

Pre Commercial Procurement (PCP) is a key financial instrument under the Horizon 2020 framework that is expected to foster the use of Copernicus in public institutions. PCP focuses on giving the public sector access to a wide range of procurement options before they become commercially available. It targets innovative products and services to further the R&D previously developed. Several different suppliers compete through various phases of development while public procurers can pool resources to follow and direct the development. The result is that public institutions have the opportunity to become ‘beta testers’ of high quality Copernicus applications, tailored towards the public sector thanks to EC funding.

The Commission will therefore seek to make use of innovative and cross-border public procurement rules, so as to create the critical mass for lead markets. The Commission will also actively promote the use of space applications by the Commission DGs (e.g. MARE, AGRI…) in order to boost the demand for such products as well as reaching out to other business sectors (such as the insurance or the agriculture sector) who represent the fastest growing demand segment for space applications.

Continuing, new and future initiatives for the Copernicus programme are bringing change and growth to all industries related to satellite technology. Copernicus has come a long way since its inception but needs to continue implementing User and Market Uptake initiatives to drive the amount of SME's, start-ups and established businesses using the programme. This will lead to more exposure to Copernicus’s vast benefits with end users both in national, regional and local administration, in the industry, in academia and in the general public.

[1] In preparation of the strategy and the individual actions therein, internal analyses were supported by two studies: the first mapped existing user uptake initiatives at European and national levels; the second analysed the socio-economic benefits of Copernicus, with an emphasis on the commercial downstream sector.